Athletes bloom during spring athletics
By Declan Fee, Colette Quass, and Sean Campbell
HUB Staff
From track and fields historic playoff run, to the women’s swim teams record-breaking performances, 2022 Davis High spring sports proved themselves a force to be reckoned with.
Graduating seniors said goodbye to their sports as they welcomed a new era of underclassmen.
The Devil’s upheld their tradition of winning and excellence which will be carried on by the next class of student-athletes.
Track and Field
The track and field team had its largest ever roster this year with 125 varsity athletes.
The team went 6-0 in open meets, or meets in which all athletes can compete, and 25-1 overall including invitationals and championships which require certain results to qualify for.
The men’s team won the league, section and masters championships and the women’s also won the league and Section championships, which continued their streak of great performances.
Seven track athletes were members of the All Delta League team this season including senior Bryce Barker.
Barker had ACL surgery only 11 months prior to the season beginning. “I thought I would never be able to play a high school sport again,” Barker said.
However, Barker recovered quickly and was able to qualify for the masters trials in both the 4×100 meter and 4×400 meter relays. Barker’s ability to persevere earned him the ability to run track for UC Irvine next year.
Softball
The softball team perse- vered through a tough 5-21 season but hope to bounce back next season.
Sophomore Naomi Kalanetra was a bright spot for the team, leading the team in batting average (0.467), OPS (1.154), RBI (22), and doubles (8).
Junior pitcher Sydney Tuss and senior pitcher Erika Wenner combined to throw 80% of all innings played by the team and had a 7.40 and 7.58 ERA respectively.
Despite the teams struggles this year, junior Maia Romero thought that this experience will prepare them for next season.
“I think now seeing how competitive our league can be, it prepared me for next season as now I have a better idea of the kind of players and pitching I’ll be facing,” Romero said.
Men’s Lacrosse
Finishing with a 12-8 record in the regular sea- son, the men’s varsity lacrosse team completed its best season in recent years.
Leading the team with 22 goals, junior Holt Kilneberg speaks on how exciting it was to finally have a whole season.
“Just being able to have a full season. My freshman year was cut short due to COVID. My sophomore year it was still a messed up shortened version. Junior year, I finally got a full season and was able to get closer with my teammates,” Klineberg said.
The team ended its season coming in fourth in the league, behind Jesuit, Vista Del Lago, and Granite Bay.
“Next season I’m just looking forward to playing again. Towards the end of the season we got into the swing of things,” Klineberg said.
Women’s Lacrosse
After a loss to the number two seed in the section, the women’s lacrosse season came to an end. The team went 16-4 in the regular season and made it to the semifinals round in section playoffs — the first time since 2011.
The team is grateful for the time they got playing with this group,
“my favorite memory of this season would be beating Ama- dor Valley in sections and making it to the semis. Devon had a great game-winning goal that saved us,” junior Ella Heringer said.
Senior Devon Morris, a four-year starting midfielder, led the team in goals with 84 goals. She holds the second highest single season scoring record behind former Davis High and current USC player Kylie Drexel.
With a successful season coming to an end, the current underclassmen look forward to the upcoming years.
“Next season I look forward to continuing our momentum and improving as a team,” Fabionar said.
“I’m excited to get to welcome new players to the team and overall excited to play with a new group of girls,” Heringer said.
Men’s Volleyball
The past two COVID-19 stricken years have proved dif- ficult for the men’s volleyball team. An already waning supply of young, male volleyball players was depleted even more as the 2020 and 2021 seasons were cut short.
This resulted in much of the team not having a lot of on- court experience, forcing them to focus on the basics and fundamentals of volleyball at the beginning of the year.
As the season progressed though, they made big improvements, fighting for the fifth spot in the Delta League.
“The progress the team has made this year is unbelievable. The difference between our first games of the season and (the last games) is remarkable,” senior Connor Beck said.
Underclassmen proved valuable for the team, as sophomore Ethan Wells led the team in total kills, kills per set, hitting percentage, total blocks, serving aces and aces per set. Sophomore Liam Langley came in first in total digs and digs per set, with junior Owen Buzbee in second for all of the categries listed.
“It was crazy being able to play alongside these boys. They always brought their A-game and I am so lucky to have them as my teammates. You can really see the big improvements we made throughout the year,” Buzbee said.
“I am very proud of the boys, and I expect big things from them next year,” Beck said.
Men’s Golf
The 2022 golf season has brought the men’s golf team a long list of accolades. Going undefeated during the season, they won the Cal Invitational, Sac-Joaquin Section, Sac- Joaquin Masters and the Norcal Championship.
During the regular season they racked up wins, providing them with the top spot in the league and getting them ready for a strong performance at the Sac Joaquin Section Championship.
At sections the team brought in first place with a combined score of 386, with the help of junior Ryan Firpo’s first place, 69-stroke performance.
The momentum carried on to Masters, where they took first place, beating Granite Bay by nine strokes.
“The group of guys we have is awesome, we have great team chemistry and it’s been a lot of fun to have won a bunch of tournaments with them,” Firpo said.
Baseball
The Davis High baseball team qualified for its 16th consecutive playoff berth since 2004. The Devil’s bounced back from a rough 3-8 start by winning crucial end stretch games to solidify a 12-17 record and a playoff berth.
With an underclassmen heavy team, the team started seven non-seniors for a large portion of the year.
Even though the season ended in the first round of the playoffs, coach Ethan Guevin is excited for the future of the program.
“I think that having those young guys (sophomores and juniors) go through the pro- cess of becoming a playoff team and seeing what it takes to win a playoff game will be a huge experience going for- ward,” Guevin said.
All-Delta League first team pitcher Brian Chin was a consistent leader for the team and he is ready for another chance at playoffs.
“(The playoff loss) will give us a lot of aggression because nobody wants to feel the way we just felt so we are going to come back with some fire,” Chin said.
Junior outfielder Brooks Ochoa and sophomore outfielder Houston McCray both also made the Delta League first team. Senior outfielder Grafton Shorts, junior pitcher Keaton Carpenter and out- fielder-infielder Koen Carston made the second team.
Men’s Tennis
This spring proved to be an easy season for the men’s tennis team, as they went 12-0 through league play, and earned the first seed in the section playoffs.
The season came to an end in the semi-final match of the playoffs against Jesuit, who Davis had already beaten twice during the regular season.
During the matchup, all doubles teams won, but the singles team failed to win enough matches to move on to the finals.
Women’s Swim and Dive
Swim and dive has long been one of the strongest sports at Davis High, set- ting league records and sending athletes to compete in college year after year.
Adding another section title and appearance in the state tournament to their already highly decorated history, the women’s swim and dive team continued its legacy as a top team in the state.
Throughout the season, multiple DHS, league and section records were snapped as the Devil’s cruised to victories in every meet.
Their dominating season continued into the playoffs as they took the Delta League championship with ease and won the Sac-Joaquin Section meet by 262 points.
This gave them a top seed in the state championship, bringing nine swimmers to compete for the state title.
With multiple top finishes in various events, the team earned second place in California.
Men’s Swim and Dive
Similar to women’s swimming, the men’s swim team saw a very successful spring.
Losing to Jesuit by just one point, they earned the secound spot in the Delta League and at the Section championship got secound place behind Granite Bay.
Five swimmers advanced to the State Meet, including senior Tate Cutler, who placed in the top five in two events.
Badminton
The Davis High badminton team sent 11 players to the Monticello Empire League tournament on May 5 and 6 to cap off a successful 12-3 campaign. The season finished with an eight game winning streak to secure first place in the Monticello Empire League (MEL).
Freshman Rowan Baar was one of two freshmen to qualify for the tournament. She believes that the team has a bright future with their current underclass- men.
“The fact that we were able to perform well and even send some seniors to Norcal (championships) sets a great example for the freshman and sophomores which will give us the drive to have the same success next year,” Baar said.
Senior and doubles player Melissa Lee was one of the players sent to the Nor Cal Championships.
“In terms of team performance we peaked right when we needed to and by the end of the season, our ladder was the strongest it has ever been,” Lee said.
Lee thought that this was the perfect send off to her athletics career at DHS.
“Our team has really got- ten so close over the season and we were able to accomplish so much together. Going to leagues, sections and Norcals and doing so well just makes it an even better season to conclude my time at DHS,” Lee said.
